Coiffure protector



Feb. 12, 1963 c. M. PROPHET 'ETAL 3,

comma PROTECTOR Filed 001;. 31, 1960 lJited States Patent fifice 3,75,972 Patented Feb. 12, 1963 3,676fi72 C'IBTEFURE PROTECTOR Charlotte M. Prophet, 4321 Berry man Ave, Los Angeles,

Calif, and Lula M. Herrera, 10734 Cranks Road, Culver City, Calif.

Filed Get. 31, 1960, Ser. No. 66,155 d Claims. (Cl. 2-174) This invention relates to a hood to be worn overnight to protect a ladys coiifure.

Unless some kind of protection is provided, a carefully arranged, artistic coiifure can be badly disarranged overnight and even completely ruined. The rubbing action of the bedding displaces and deforms curls and strands of the coilfure, and the pressure of the head against an underlying pillow crushes and flattens the coiflure.

A conventional hair net may be used to confine a coiifure overni ht, but a hair net provides practically no protection against the rubbing action of the bedclothes and does not keep the coifi'ure from being flattened against the wearers head. A cloth hood or piece of fabric such as a scarf folded to form a turban is not satisfactory because it fits too tightly and compacts the coiflure against the head.

We have found that the desired protection may be provided effectively by a sheet of thin, soft, pliable paper if the paper is adapted to form an oversized hood of ballooned configuration and if the hood, and especially the sides of the hood, has at least two thicknesses of the paper for a cushioning effect. It has been found further that paper may be used for this purpose that is soft enough and thin enough to avoid creating a disturbing crackling noise and yet is strong enough to withstand the stresses involved in overnight wear.

It has been found that relatively soft flimsy paper when formed into a hood, in the manner hereinafter ascribed, protects the coiifure by a certain cushioning action that is inherent in the folds, creases and tucks that are created by the manner in which multiple layers of soft paper overlap. Because of the folds and tucks, the overlapping layers of paper are spaced apart substantially and in a yielding manner. Thus the material of the hood tends to spring or bow upward from the coiifure and especially so since the hood is oversized to produce a balloon-like configuration around the head. There is also reason to believe that the paper structure tends to keep air in the coiffure to keep the hair fiuffy. The resilient action of the multiple layers of paper and the tendency to keep air in the coir'iure work together to prevent deterioration of the coiffure.

A certain grade of thin paper which consists essentially of long fibers of cotton oriented in one direction is commercially available and is especially advantageous for the purpose of this invention. Such a paper sheet has special utility because the oriented cotton fibers resist stresses in tension along the corresponding dimension of the sheet.

In the selected embodiment of the invention, a panel of this paper sheet material or other suitable paper sheet material is provided with a loop of elastic to form a hood with an opening that yieldingly embraces the wearers head, and this hood is provided with a pair of wide straps of the same paper material to be wound around the head. The straps add reinforcing layers of the paper to the hood, and are relatively strong because the cotton fibers are oriented longitudinally of the straps to extentd circumferentially around the completed hood.

The selected embodiment of the invention is inexpensive to manufacture since it may consist essentially of a single sheet of paper. One end portion of the sheet of paper is a panel that is bounded by the elastic to form a hood of the desired oversized, ballooned configuration. The remainder of the sheet comprises two straps which extend longitudinally from the hood panel in side-by-side relationship.

An additional feature of the invention is the concept of notching such a sheet of paper on its opposite longitudinal edges at the junctions of the hood-forming panel with the two ribbon-like straps. The notching of the sheet in this manner avoids bunching of the paper material at the back of the wearers neck when the multiple layered hood is assembled for night use.

Another feature of the selected embodiment of the invention is the concept of providing at least one of the two straps with at least one longitudinal slit or slot to receive the other strap. When the hood is assembled to protect a coiifure, it is a simple matter to pass one of the straps through such a slot in the other of the two straps for effectively anchoring both of the straps in their assembled positions.

The various features and advantages of the invention may be understood from the following detailed description together with the accompanying drawing.

in the drawing, which is to be regarded as merely illustrative:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the selected embodiment of the invention in flat state prior to the insertion of the elastic;

FIG. 2 shows the hood completed by the addition of the elastic to form a yieldable opening for embracing the wearers head;

REG. 3 is a front view of the hood showing the shape it takes when first placed on the wearer's head before the two straps are wound around the head;

FIG. 4 is a similar view showing one of the straps wound around the side and front of the head;

PEG. 5 is a similar view showing the second strap in its assembled position;

FIG. 6 is a side view of the hood completely assembled and installed to protect the coiifure; and

PEG. 7 is a perspective view of the completely assembled hood.

The selected embodiment of the invention comprises essentially a thin, soft sheet of paper that is generally designated 5 in PEG. 1. As heretofore indicated, the sheet of paper may be the previously described paper that consists essentially of oriented cotton fibers bound together in a mat. In FIG. 1 the cotton fibers are indicated as oriented longitudinally of the sheet.

The paper sheet in FIG. 1 is divided into a hood-forming panel 1d and a pair of wide straps 12 and 14 that extend longitudinally from one edge of the panel, side by side. The end of the sheet that is used for the hoodforniing panel It may be cut with a curved edge 15. The sheet has a longitudinal cut 16 which extends from the panel it} towards the opposite end of the sheet, this cut separating the two straps i2 and 14. Preferably, the ends of the two straps l2 and M are tapered as shown. The elastic, which may consist of one or two strands of elasticized thread, is stitched to the peripheral margin of the hood-forming panel id, for example, at the position indicated by the dotted line 18 in FIG. 1.

In PEG. 2 the installed elastic is indicated by the dotted line 2%. This figure shows how the elastic yieldingly contracts the hood opening 22 that receives and embraces the wearers head. As may be seen in FIG. 2, the formed hood 24 has an oversized, ballooned configuration, the hood-forming panel 1% of FIG. 1 being of ample area for this purpose. FIG. 2 also shows how the two straps l2 and 14 are attached to the formed hood 24 at the lower portion of the opening 22 on either side of the Wearers head. Thus, the attached ends of the tWo straps l2 and 14 lie at the back of the wearers neck.

At least one of the two straps 12 and 14 may be provided with at least one longitudinal slit or slot to receive aovasve J the other strap. FIG. 4 shows two longitudinal slots 25 for this purpose in the strap 12.

FIG. 3 shows the configuration that is assumed by the formed hood 24- when the hood is initially positioned to completely cover the coifiure loosely. When the formed hood 24 is so positioned, the strap 12 may be wound around the side and front of the hood as indicated in FIG. 4. The final step is to wrap the second strap 14 around the side and front of the head. The two straps may be effectively secured in position by simply tucking the end of the second strap under the upper edge of the first strap, as shown in FIG. 5. If desired, however, the end of the strap 14 may be inserted through the slots 25 in the strap 12 to hold the straps in place overnight.

A feature of the embodiment of the illustrated invention is the concept of cutting away portions of the sheet 10 to form two tapered notches 26 in the opposite longitudinal edges of the sheet at the junctures between the panel 1t and the two straps 12 and 14, respectively. It has been found that provision of the two notches 26 eliminat-es an undesirable tendency for the material of the installed hood to bunch in these regions at the back of the neck of the wearer. Thus, the notches not only make the assembled hood more comfortable but, also, make the assembled hood neater in appearance.

A hair net may be placed over the completed hood if desired. A feature of the invention, however, is that the addition of a hair net is not at all necessary.

Our description in specific detail of the selected embodiment of the invention will suggest various changes, substitutions and other departures from our disclosure, within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Thus, the hood may be fabricated from more than one piece of the sheet material. For example, one piece of paper may be used for the panel 13 and a separate piece of paper may be used for the straps 12 and 14, the ends of the straps being bonded or otherwise attached to the panel 10.

We claim:

1. A device to be worn for overnight protection of a coifrure, comprising: a hood to cover the coiifure with an opening in the hood to conform generally to the edges of the coiffure, said hood being of an oversized, ballooned configuration to enclose the coifiure in a loose manner to avoid flattening of the coilfure against the head of the wearer; elastic means attached to the rim of said opening of the hood to yieldingly contract the rim snugly around the head of the wearer; and a pair of straps attached to the hood to be wrapped around the hood to provide at least one added layer of protective material around the sides and front of the hood, said hood and straps being made of thin, soft, noncracking paper which tends to bow outward away from the coifiure.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1 in which at least one of said two straps has at least one longitudinal slit or slot in the central longitudinal regions thereof to receive the other strap.

3. A device as set forth in claim 1 in which said straps are attached to the hood at the lower portion of said opening, which portion is positioned at the back of the Wearers head.

4. A coiifune protector comprising: a sheet of thin, soft, pliable paper of elongated configuration in plan, divided into a panel at one end of the sheet and two straps extending longitudinally from one end thereof in side by side relationship, the edge at the opposite end of said panel being rounded; an elongated elastic means connected to said panel around its periphery and forming the panel into a hood with an opening in the hood yieldingly contracted by the elastic means, said panel being oversized whereby the hood is of oversized, ballooned configuration to contain the coifiure in a loose manner and avoid flattening of the coifiure against the wearers head.

5. A coiffure protector as set forth in claim 4 in which the combined width of said straps is substantially equal to the width of said panel and in which the two opposite longitudinal side edges of said sheet of paper are notched at the junctures between said panel and said straps, respectively, to avoid launching of the sheet material at the base ends of the straps when the hood is being worn.

6. A co-iifure protector as set forth in claim 4 in which said sheet of paper consists essentially of fibers of cotton oriented longitudinally of said straps.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,749,340 Grean Mar. 4, 1930 2,408,662 Levitt Oct. 1, 1946 2,420,378 Lehman et a1 May 13, 1947 2,665,427 Street et al Jan. 12, 1954 2,694,204 Cross Nov. 16, 1954 2,804,626 Rossiter Sept. 3, 1957 

1. A DEVICE TO BE WORN FOR OVERNIGHT PROTECTION OF A COIFFURE, COMPRISING: A HOOD TO COVER THE COIFFURE WITH AN OPENING IN THE HOOD TO CONFORM GENERALLY TO THE EDGES OF THE COIFFURE, SAID HOOD BEING OF AN OVERSIZED, BALLOONED CONFIGURATION TO ENCLOSE THE COIFFURE IN A LOOSE MANNER TO AVOID FLATTENING OF THE COIFFURE AGAINST THE HEAD OF THE WEARER; ELASTIC MEANS ATTACHED TO THE RIM OF SAID OPENING OF THE HOOD TO YIELDINGLY CONTRACT THE RIM SNUGLY AROUND THE HEAD OF THE WEARER; AND A PAIR OF STRAPS ATTACHED TO THE HOOD TO BE WRAPPED AROUND THE HOOD TO PROVIDE AT LEAST ONE ADDED LAYER OF PROTECTIVE MATERIAL AROUND THE SIDES AND FRONT OF THE HOOD, SAID HOOD AND STRAPS BEING MADE OF THIN, SOFT, NON-CRACKING PAPER WHICH TENDS TO BOW OUTWARD AWAY FROM THE COIFFURE. 